Change Your RSS Feed
CORRECTED: Bishops to Senators: Bill Fails to Protect Life, Dignity, Consciences and Health of All
Among the bill's problems:
- The abortion provisions do not maintain this commitment to the legal status quo on abortion funding;
- Federal funds will help subsidize, and in some cases a federal agency will facilitate and promote, health plans that cover elective abortions;
- All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people’s abortions in a very direct and explicit way, through a separate premium payment designed solely to pay for abortion;
- There is no provision for individuals to opt out of this abortion payment in federally subsidized plans, so people will be required by law to pay for other people’s abortions;
- States may opt out of this system only by passing legislation to prohibit abortion coverage;
- The bill does not prevent governmental discrimination against health care providers that decline involvement in abortion;
- The bill includes no conscience protection allowing Catholic and other institutions to provide and purchase health coverage consistent with their moral and religious convictions on other procedures;
- The bill forbids undocumented immigrants from purchasing health care coverage in the exchange;
- The bill maintains the five-year ban on legal immigrants accessing federal health benefit programs, such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Medicare; and
- The bill still leaves over 23 million people in our nation without health insurance. This falls far short of what is needed in both policy and moral dimensions.
Contact Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and ask them to oppose the health care reform bill until these fundamental flaws are remedied.
Senator Kent Conrad
Washington: (202) 224-2043
Bismarck: (701) 258-4648
Toll Free: 1-800-223-4457
Fargo: Telephone: (701) 232-8030
Grand Forks: Telephone: (701) 775-9601
Minot: Telephone: (701) 852-0703
http://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm
Senator Byron L. Dorgan
Washington: (202) 224-2551
Bismarck: (701) 250-4618
Toll Free: 1-800-666-4482
Fargo: (701) 239-5389
Grand Forks: (701) 746-8972
Minot: (701) 852-0703
http://dorgan.senate.gov/contact/
Action Alert! Stop Abortion Funding in Health Care Reform!
The Senate is preparing for a vote on its health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590). A final vote on cloture is expected on December 23 and the vote on passage is expected on December 24. On December 8, the Senate voted to table the Nelson-Hatch-Casey Amendment, 54-yes, 45-no. This amendment, like the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, would prevent the legislation from mandating abortion coverage or providing federal funds for coverage that includes elective abortions.
Subsequently, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced his Manager’s Amendment, which represents the health care reform bill that the Leader intends the Senate to pass. The abortion and conscience provisions in this proposal are not acceptable. In a December 22 letter to the Senate, the U.S. Bishops state that the Manager’s Amendment does not meet the three moral criteria articulated by the bishops throughout the debate: keeping in place current federal law on abortion funding and conscience protection; protecting access to health care that immigrants currently have and removing barriers to access; and including strong provisions for affordability and coverage standards. “Specifically, it violates the longstanding federal policy against the use of federal funds for elective abortions and health plans that include such abortions. . .” The bill also does not provide adequate conscience protection. The bishops strongly urged the Senate “not to move its current health care reform bill forward without incorporating essential changes to ensure that needed health care reform legislation truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.” The bishops conclude: “Until these fundamental flaws are remedied the bill should be opposed.” For the full text of this letter, see: nchla.org/docdisplay.asp?ID=313.
ACTION: Contact Members through e-mail, phone calls or FAX letters. 1) To send an e-mail, click here. 2) Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices.
Senator Kent Conrad
Washington: (202) 224-2043
Bismarck: (701) 258-4648
Toll Free: 1-800-223-4457
Fargo: Telephone: (701) 232-8030
Grand Forks: Telephone: (701) 775-9601
Minot: Telephone: (701) 852-0703
http://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm
Senator Byron L. Dorgan
Washington: (202) 224-2551
Bismarck: (701) 250-4618
Toll Free: 1-800-666-4482
Fargo: (701) 239-5389
Grand Forks: (701) 746-8972
Minot: (701) 852-0703
http://dorgan.senate.gov/contact/
MESSAGE—SENATE: "The health care reform proposal now before the Senate violates the longstanding federal policy against the use of federal funds for elective abortions and health plans that include such abortions. It also fails to provide adequate conscience protection. Please do not move this bill forward at this time but continue to discuss and approve changes that would make it morally acceptable. If this does not occur, the bill should be opposed.”
WHEN: In the Senate a final vote on cloture is expected December 23 and the vote on passage is expected December 24. Thanks!
Health Reform Bill Needs More Work Despite New Language On Abortion, Say Catholic Bishops
Bill should not go forward unless and until problems remedied
Protection of life, conscience rights; fairness to legal immigrants; affordability top issues
WASHINGTON--The Senate health reform bill should not move forward in its current form, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City said December 19, as senators proceeded closer to a vote. Cardinal DiNardo chairs the bishops' Committee on Pro-life Activities. Bishop Murphy chairs the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Bishop Wester chairs the bishops' Committee on Migration.
"Yesterday the bishops commented on good-faith efforts by Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) to improve the pending Senate health care reform bill on the issues of abortion and conscience rights," Cardinal DiNardo, Bishop Murphy and Bishop Wester said. "Today a Manager's Amendment was proposed to make final changes in that bill. The amendment includes some improvements from Senator Casey's proposal, including adoption tax credits and assistance for pregnant women, but differs from that proposal in other ways: It does not seem to allow purchasers who exercise freedom of choice or of conscience to "opt out" of abortion coverage in federally subsidized health plans that include such coverage. Instead it will require purchasers of such plans to pay a distinct fee or surcharge which is extracted solely to help pay for other people's abortions. Further the government agency that currently manages health coverage for federal employees will promote and help subsidize multi-state health plans that include elective abortions, contrary to longstanding law governing this agency.
Therefore, while we appreciate the good-faith efforts made by Senators Robert Casey and Ben Nelson (D-NE) to improve the bill, our judgment is the same as it was yesterday: This legislation should not move forward in its current form. It should be opposed unless and until such serious concerns have been addressed. The bishops' conference continues to study that 383-page amendment's implications from the perspective of all the bishops' moral concerns -- protection of life and conscience, affordable access to health care, and fairness to immigrants. We will continue to work vigorously for authentic health care reform that clearly reflects these fundamental principles because such reform is a public good, moral imperative and urgent national priority."
‘Abortion Compromise’ Does Not Address Core Problem In Senate Health Bill, Says Cardinal DiNardo, Bishops’ Pro-Life Chair -Update
‘Compromise’ would make citizens pay for
others’ abortions Senate should mirror House of
Representative’s Hyde amendment language Bill
doesn’t meet goals of affordability, fairness to
legal immigrants, protection of life
WASHINGTON—Responding
to reports of a new “compromise” proposal
on abortion in the U.S. Senate’s health care
reform bill, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo today reaffirmed
the position of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
that the legislation will be morally unacceptable
“unless and until” it complies with
longstanding current laws on abortion funding such as
the Hyde amendment. Cardinal DiNardo is Archbishop of
Galveston-Houston and Chairman of the
Conference’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
The Cardinal commented on efforts by Senator Robert
Casey (D-PA) to improve the Senate bill’s
treatment of abortion. “Senator Casey’s
good-faith effort to allow individuals to ‘opt
out’ of abortion coverage actually underscores
how radically the underlying Senate bill would change
abortion policy. Excluding elective abortions from
overall health plans is not a privilege that
individuals should have to seek as the exception to the
norm. In all other federal health programs, excluding
abortion coverage is
the
norm. And numerous opinion polls show that the great
majority of Americans do not want abortion
coverage.”
“I welcome Senator Casey’s good-faith
effort to improve this bill, said Cardinal
Dinardo.” In particular he has sought to improve
protection for conscience rights, and to include
programs of support for pregnant women and adoptive
parents that we favor in their own right. However,
these improvements do not change the fundamental
problem with the Senate bill: Despite repeated claims
to the contrary, it does not comply with longstanding
Hyde restrictions on federal funding of elective
abortions and health plans that include them.”
Cardinal DiNardo had written to the Senate on December
14, saying that “the Catholic bishops of the
United States strongly support authentic reform of our
ailing health care system.” His letter cited
“three moral criteria for reform: respect for
life and conscience; affordability for the poor; and
access to much-needed basic health care for
immigrants,” noting that so far the Senate bill
“has fallen short of the example set by the House
version of this legislation in each of these
areas.”
On abortion funding, the Cardinal urged the Senate to
“incorporate into this bill the longstanding and
widely supported policies of current law, acknowledged
and reaffirmed by the Senate itself” when it
approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act for the
new fiscal year on December 13. This Act reaffirmed the
Hyde amendment and other laws that exclude elective
abortions from health plans receiving federal funds --
including the plans that cover the Senators themselves
and all other federal employees. The Senate so far has
failed to reflect this same policy in its health care
bill as the House has done, he said [see
www.usccb.org/healthcare/DiNardo_1214_letter.pdf].
Cardinal DiNardo said December 18: “We continue
to oppose and urge others to oppose the Senate bill
unless and until this fundamental failure is remedied.
And whatever the immediate outcome in the Senate, we
will continue to work for health care reform which
truly protects the life, dignity, conscience and health
of all. As the bishops have said many times,
‘providing affordable and accessible health care
that clearly reflects these fundamental principles is a
public good, moral imperative and urgent national
priority.’ In particular we will work vigorously
to ensure that the substance of the House’s
provision on abortion funding is included in final
legislation. A special debt of gratitude is owed to
House and Senate members, especially Rep. Bart Stupak
(D-MI) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who have placed
their votes and reputation on the line to stand up for
unborn children. Making this legislation consistent
with longstanding federal law on abortion will not
threaten needed authentic reform, but will help ensure
its passage.”
Pope's World Day of Peace Message
Pope Benedict teaches that “integral human development is closely linked to the obligations which flow from man’s relationship with the natural environment. The environment must be seen as God’s gift to all people, and the use we make of it entails a shared responsibility for all humanity, especially the poor and future generations.”
Attached you will find a resource to help local parishes, schools and campus ministries to explore the Holy Father’s teaching. It includes a bulletin insert, a primer on Catholic social teaching and the environment, a prayer, and stories from Catholic Relief Services that gives a face to the issues explored by the Pope Benedict in his message. A series of bulletin quotes will be available soon on JPHD’s World Day of Peace Web page at www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/worlddayofpeacewebsite.shtml.
Please use these resources to explore the poignant questions posed by our Holy Father:
Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions? Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of “environmental refugees”, people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it – and often their possessions as well – in order to face the dangers and uncertainties of forced displacement? Can we remain impassive in the face of actual and potential conflicts involving access to natural resources?
In Christ’s Peace during this Advent Season,
Hyde Amendment and Nelson-Hatch Compared
The Hyde and FEHBP provisions, which prohibit federal funding of abortion or insurance benefits packages that include abortion, are current law. The Nelson/Hatch/Casey Amendment, which applies the same policy to the Senate health care bill, was tabled by the Senate in a December 8 vote, after many Senators claimed that, by not allowing use of federal funds for health plans that include elective abortions, the amendment marked a radical departure from current law.
On December 13, however, the Senate approved both the Hyde and FEHBP language as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The next day, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote to the Senate: “In that vote, almost all Democrats, including almost every Senator who claimed the Nelson amendment’s policy goes too far, voted in favor of that exact policy. For these Senators voted to retain the actual current language of the Hyde amendment, and of the parallel provision governing abortion in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program – and that language clearly requires a policy in all other federal health programs that is identical to that of the Nelson amendment.”
Bishops Want Health Care Reform Aligned With Current Abortion Funding Laws; Urge Support For Menendez Amendment To Waive Waiting Period For Legal Immigrants
Don’t permit federal funds for elective abortion
coverage for first time in decades
Let legal immigrants access health benefits for which
they pay taxes
Three issues for bishops: respect life and conscience;
affordability; fair access for immigrants
WASHINGTON—The
U.S. bishops again urged senators to place Hyde
Amendment language into proposed health care reform
legislation, a step that would align the legislation
with policies now governing all other federal health
programs and the just-passed Consolidated
Appropriations Act.
They made their request in a December 14 letter from
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chair of
the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’
(USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities
(http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/DiNardo_1214_letter.pdf)
In a separate letter, also sent Dec. 14, Cardinal
DiNardo and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair
of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, and
Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York,
chair of the Domestic Policy Committee, urged support
of the Menendez Amendment (http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/legalfiveyears.pdf).
The Menendez Amendment, proposed by Rep. Robert
Menendez (D-NJ), would give states the option to lift
the five-year waiting period for legal immigrants to
obtain Medicaid coverage.
The letter on the Hyde Amendment sought to clarify
misrepresentation of an amendment sponsored by Senators
Ben Nelson (D-NE), Orrin Hatch ((R-UT) and Robert Casey
(D-PA) that the Senate tabled on December 8. The
bishops pointed out the irony that senators supported
the policy of the Nelson/Hatch/Casey Amendment when
they voted overwhelmingly for the Consolidated
Appropriations Act on December 13. The appropriations
act contains Hyde language banning federal funding for
health coverage that includes elective abortion, and
maintains laws protecting conscience rights such as the
Hyde/Weldon Amendment.
A major problem with the current health care reform
legislation in the Senate , Cardinal DiNardo said, is
that “it explicitly authorizes the use of federal
funds to subsidize health plans covering elective
abortions for the first time in history.”
“Health care reform is too urgently needed to be
placed at risk by one lobbying group’s insistence
on changing the law. Before the Senate considers final
votes on its health care reform legislation, please
incorporate into this bill the longstanding and widely
supported policies of current law,” Cardinal
DiNardo added.
In supporting the Menendez Amendment, Cardinal DiNardo,
Bishop Wester and Bishop Murphy noted that “legal
immigrants, who work, pay taxes, and are on a path to
citizenship, should have access to health care
services, such as Medicaid, for which they help pay.
“Moreover, providing low-income legal immigrants
access to Medicaid would help ensure that the general
public health of immigrant communities and the nation
is served,” they said.
Support the Menendez Amendment that Stands for Fairness to Legal Immigrants!
Ask your Senators to stand for fairness in health care reform. For far too long, legal immigrants have been denied the opportunity to gain access to affordable health insurance. Under the Senate health care reform plan, legal immigrants are required to have health insurance, but must wait five years before they can access insurance programs like Medicaid. Now, the Senate has their first chance to make things better for these communities.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has joined with five other policymakers to introduce Senate Amendment 2991 to health care reform legislation, which would give states the option to eliminate the five-year waiting period for lawfully residing immigrants who need access to Medicaid.
Ask your Senators to vote against amendments being offered Senators Ensign (R-NV) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) that would create barriers to immigrants from obtaining health care coverage for which they are eligible.
Votes on these amendments could come in the next few of days.
MESSAGE—SENATE: “Please support the Menendez amendment that provides fairness to legal immigrants and oppose amendments that are harmful to immigrants and the health care of their families.
WHEN: Today! The Senate spent the weekend working on spending bills and will resume debate on the health care bill today.
Senator Kent Conrad
Washington: (202) 224-2043
Bismarck: (701) 258-4648
Toll Free: 1-800-223-4457
Fargo: Telephone: (701) 232-8030
Grand Forks: Telephone: (701) 775-9601
Minot: Telephone: (701) 852-0703
http://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm
Senator Byron L. Dorgan
Washington: (202) 224-2551
Bismarck: (701) 250-4618
Toll Free: 1-800-666-4482
Fargo: (701) 239-5389
Grand Forks: (701) 746-8972
Minot: (701) 852-0703
http://dorgan.senate.gov/contact/
Restore Ban on Funding of Elective Abortions in D.C.
Please urge your Representative and Senators to vote "no" on the passage of H.R. 3288 so that the measure can be returned to committee to restore the D.C. policy. To send e-mails or to make phone calls, please see the latest NCHLA Action Alert at: www.nchla.org/actiondisplay.asp?ID=281.
Please act immediately! We realize that the notice is short and that the time frame is short. Please do what you can. Thanks!
Senator Kent Conrad
Washington: (202) 224-2043
Bismarck: (701) 258-4648
Toll Free: 1-800-223-4457
Fargo: Telephone: (701) 232-8030
Grand Forks: Telephone: (701) 775-9601
Minot: Telephone: (701) 852-0703
http://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm
Senator Byron L. Dorgan
Washington: (202) 224-2551
Bismarck: (701) 250-4618
Toll Free: 1-800-666-4482
Fargo: (701) 239-5389
Grand Forks: (701) 746-8972
Minot: (701) 852-0703
http://dorgan.senate.gov/contact/
Representative Earl Pomeroy
Washington: United States House of Representatives
1501 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Telephone: (202) 225-2611
FAX: (202) 226-0893
Bismarck: Telephone: (701) 224-0355
Fargo: Telephone: (701) 235-9760
http://www.house.gov/formpomeroy/zipauth.htm

